{"id":15231,"date":"2025-01-28T15:12:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T13:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lost.team\/online-grooming-what-it-is-how-it-happens-and-how-to-defend-children\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T15:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T13:12:22","slug":"online-grooming-what-it-is-how-it-happens-and-how-to-defend-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/online-grooming-what-it-is-how-it-happens-and-how-to-defend-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Grooming: What It Is, How It Happens, and How to Defend Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Building trust is a natural part of human connection. But what happens when trust is exploited to harm?<\/p>\n<p>Thorn\u2019s latest article dives into the realities of <strong>online grooming<\/strong>\u2014a process where abusers exploit trust through digital platforms to manipulate and harm children. Technology has amplified the reach of this danger, making it critical for caregivers, educators, and communities to act.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Insights from the Article:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Online grooming can happen anywhere children interact online\u2014video game chats, social media, and even live streaming platforms.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nearly <strong>40% of kids online<\/strong> have been approached by someone attempting to manipulate them.<\/li>\n<li>Grooming often leads to <strong>self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM)<\/strong> and, in some cases, <strong>sextortion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Lennon\u2019s Story:<\/strong><br \/>\nAt just 13, professional dancer and reality TV star Lennon Torres shared her experience of falling victim to online grooming. Her story highlights the risks many young people face, especially those in the LGBTQ community. Lennon\u2019s courage in sharing her journey reminds us of the importance of fostering open, judgment-free conversations about online safety with children.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How to Report Exploitation:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you encounter potential child sexual abuse material (CSAM), report it immediately to:<br \/>\nThe platform where it was found.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Local law enforcement if you feel under immediate threat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Final Thoughts:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Preventing online grooming isn\u2019t about banning technology\u2014it\u2019s about equipping children with the knowledge and tools to navigate the online world safely. As adults, we must create a foundation of trust, so kids feel safe coming to us when something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorn.org\/blog\/online-grooming-what-it-is-how-it-happens-and-how-to-defend-children\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>. Together, we at LOST2 project and you, let\u2019s build safer digital spaces for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Building trust is a natural part of human connection. But what happens when trust is exploited to harm? Thorn\u2019s latest article dives into the realities&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1699,"featured_media":10048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-37",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lost.team\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}